An Interview with Glen Brent

We are often asked about the superb quality of many of the black and white prints we sell. Reproduction over the Internet can never do justice to the depth and lustre of such prints, but people who see them in exhibition often ask how the photographer achieves this sublime quality. We therefore went to talk to Glen Brent, who prints for many of the photographers whose work features on galleryf. Glen is one of the UKs best-known printers, and we asked him about his work.

How did you start?
I first became a photographic printer after leaving school in the 1970s – I left leafy Surrey and moved up to work in a very large lab in Great Windmill Street in Soho – it was a very different place back then! Shortly after this I moved to a company that worked exclusively on stills for films – I was lucky enough to spend six months in Holland working on a “Bridge too Far”. Having lunch with Sean Connery and Robert Redford was quite a buzz. After a spell with Camera Press, my first taste of photojournalism, I moved to Magnum in the late 1980s as their specialist Black and White printer. These were the days before photo libraries went digital , so everything was printed from negative. As Magnum in the UK were just getting going, at first there wasn't enough work for me and so my time was shared with the Network agency – and it was at this time I met Mike Goldwater, Homer Sykes and many of the other leading UK photojournalists – relationships I have kept up to this day.

What are you doing now?
Printing black and white from negatives is the short answer. As most people interested in photography will know, there has been a vast change in the last ten years, especially the advent of digital. But there continues to a demand for traditional printing. It's all a mater of opinion, but many photographers feel that their work looks best produced in the traditional way – it's a technique that basically hasn't changed for more than 100 years. There is a particular demand for prints for production in books and, of course, exhibitions. I have recently printed works for Homer for show at Tate Britain. In 2002, for example, I printed up over 100 prints for Martin Parr for a major exhibition of his work “Photoworks 1971 – 2000” at the Barbican and also for Val Williams book of the exhibition. But there are other areas as well, for example I am currently producing contact prints from over 5,000 Victorian plate glass negatives for a collector.

What's the relationship between printer and photographer?
Although Glen modestly doesn't refer to this, the Magnum photographer, Eve Arnold, who memorably photographed her friend Marilyn Monroe across a long and illustrious career, once described Glen as “the greatest printer in the world”. It is apparent from the roll call of photographers who regularly use Glen that a relation builds up between the photographer and printer. Some printers have a “signature” style that the trained eye can detect, but Glen doesn't work like that – wherever possible he likes to work with the photographer in order to bring out the best in the work, particularly if the original negative may has been shot under difficult conditions and may have some technical defects that can be corrected in the printing process. You won't find a high powered PC running Photoshop in Glen's darkroom.

What systems do you use?
Generally, I use the Ilford Multigrade system and print onto either Resin coated or Fibre based papers – it depends on the photographer and print. I also sometimes produce what we call “work prints” - 5 by 7's instead of contact sheets, as they are so much easier to work with.

What now?
There has been a demand for this type of work for more than 100 years and it will continue. Many photographers still prefer shooting on negative and producing prints in the traditional way. It's never going to disappear.

Do you only work for the leading photojournalists, or can anyone get in touch?
Not at all, my work comes from many sources and it's part of the creative side of my job to work with people to get the result that they envisioned when they took the original image. I work from a purpose built facility in South West London and a lot of business these days can be transacted via couriers, post and phone. It's the final print that matters!

You can contact Glen by Email by or phone him on +44(0)7944 959843

The images on this page show detail from “Car in the Arizona Desert” shot and printed by Glen and an Ilford Magazine profiling Glens work at Magnum

Link :

Ilford